A group of good government organizations is urging New York lawmakers to oppose Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposals, which seek to increase her authority over state spending.
The coalition has written a letter to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and House Speaker Carl Heastie, urging them to reject certain provisions in the budget. They argue that these provisions would grant the governor’s office unnecessary and fiscally risky powers of spending and borrowing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor was granted broad spending, budget management, and borrowing authorities that provided the necessary authority and flexibility to manage the unprecedented public health emergency and dire fiscal situation.
According to the authors, the situation has changed significantly since then. They argue that the controls that were once deemed necessary are no longer required. They believe that implementing these controls would grant the Governor unrestricted power to transfer, spend, or issue debt using public funds.
The groups have urged lawmakers to refuse the governor’s permanent authority to issue revenue anticipation notes worth up to $4 billion. They also called for the General Fund transfer of $1 billion to the “Health Care Transformation Account” to be rejected, unless its uses are clearly specified in appropriations. Additionally, they have demanded the inclusion of provisions in individual appropriations that eliminate competitive bidding requirements, among other requests.
The coalition, comprising of the Citizens Budget Commission, Common Cause New York, the Empire Center for Public Policy, and the New York Public Interest Research Group, has urged legislative leaders to oppose a proposition that would restrict the state Comptroller’s authority to scrutinize bond transactions.
According to the authors, the practice of back-loading principal payments can result in increased future debt service costs and goes against the principle of intergenerational fiscal equity. State law mandates a level or declining debt service schedule for certain state debts to ensure fairness across generations. They emphasize the importance of the comptroller’s authority to assess all state-supported bond sales based on essential criteria, including this requirement.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli expressed similar concerns regarding Hochul’s budget proposal. In a report, he highlighted that the policy changes would severely limit his office’s ability to oversee bond transactions while granting the executive branch expanded powers that he referred to as “extraordinary.”
According to DiNapoli, the proposed changes would ultimately result in higher costs for state taxpayers in the long term due to the necessary bond structuring decisions.
In January, Hochul presented her initial budget of $223 billion, which aimed to allocate additional funding for migrant expenses, education, healthcare, and criminal justice. Moreover, she sought to enhance the authority of her office in managing financial matters.
Legislative budget writers are set to unveil their own rendition of the spending plan, with the deadline for finalizing a state budget slated for April 1st.
